Pittsburgh might not be filled with the trendy clubs of Queer as Folk, or the post-modern strip bars of Flashdance, (both of which featured storylines set in Pittsburgh), but there’s still plenty to do in this steel town on a Saturday night.

Modern and cosmopolitan, Pittsburgh pulses with 21st-century energy. From the first wave of Scottish-Irish immigration in the mid-18th century, Pittsburgh has made a tradition of welcoming newcomers. The gay community is thriving, too, drawing guys from three surrounding states. In 2012, National Geographic's Traveler magazine called Pittsburgh one of the best worldwide travel destinations, citing "a natural setting that rivals Lisbon and San Francisco, a wealth of fine art and architecture, and a quirky sense of humor."

Pittsburgh Filmmakers nurtures all forms of visual art, and screens a wide variety of classic, indie and foreign films at 3 art-house cinemas in downtown Pittsburgh.

Getting here

Greater Pittsburgh International Airport, is 14 miles west of downtown. The Port Authority bus number 28X, the Airport Flyer, costs $2.75 for a trip into Downtown via the West Busway, also serving Oakland. Bus drivers accept exact change only. If a tranfer from Downtown is required, you must buy that ($1 extra) at the same time. Limos, taxi cabs and vans can also whisk you downtown - see the airport website for more info.

The city has Amtrak intercity rail service at Pennsylvania Station (aka Union Station) at the Grant and Liberty Avenue/ 11th St intersection. Major lines lead to Philadelphia and Washington DC, with connections to Eastern Seaboard cities north and south; and to Cleveland, with connections north into Canada, or west-bound through Chicago.

Intercity bus services are provided by Greyhound from their station at 55 Eleventh Street (Grant & Liberty Avenues), and MegaBus with service from beneath the David L Lawrence Convention Center.

The Great Allegheny Passage cuts through Allegheny Mountain country to join with the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath in the Potomac Valley. Together they create a continuous bike and running trail, 325 miles long, between Pittsburgh and Washington DC.

Getting around

Pittsburgh has a small but efficient light rail suburban transit system, (“The T” Blue and Red lines), with a "Free Fare Zone" between the six northern/ Downtown station; also an impressive network of buses to get you around town, both operated by the Port Authority. They also operate the Monongahela Incline funicular railway on Mount Washington. The Duquesne Incline, first opened to the public in May, 1877, is operated separately, but accepts Port Authority passes.

The center of the city is compact and walkable, and there are over 20 miles of traffic-free bicycle paths along all three rivers. Pittsburgh Bike Share offers 500 bikes from 50 stations throughout the city, using the Nextbike group systems. See Golden Triangle for bike rentals at their downtown location, 600 First Avenue (under the First Avenue “T” station), from mid-March through mid-October.

Neighborhoods

Downtown is to the east of Point State Park, where the Allegheny River and Monongahela River converge to become the Ohio River. The area between the rivers, known as the Golden Triangle, is where many of the LGBT clubs have traditionally been located, on or near Liberty Avenue - including the local bathhouse. More clubs are located further to the northeast in the Strip District and the Lawrenceville neighborhood.

Eastward from Downtown, the Oakland and Shadyside sections are home to the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, Carnegie Museum and Library, and other educational and cultural institutions. Gay clubs are among the area's many cafes, restaurants, bars and small shops. Backdraft in Baldwin on the south side, is one notable exception.

The Burgh Bears social group has bar nights, pizza and bowling events, outings and special annual weekend get-togethers, for bears and friends, but welcoming to everyone, 21 and over.

RCC, the Renaissance City Choir of Pittsburgh is western Pennsylvania’s LGBTQA choral group with men's and women's choirs, and concerts at East Liberty Presbyterian Church.

The Dollar BankThree Rivers Arts Festival takes place over ten days in early June, each year in downtown Pittsburgh, with music, film, and other performing and visual arts presentations.

The PGH Equality Center (210 Grant St), provides community services, and hosts events such as bingo and dances. Their library contains over 10,000 books, CDs, DVDs and videos.

For general listings, the local alternative weekly Pittsburgh City Paper has arts and restaurant reviews and events. A former PCP editor is attempting to kickstart a new independent pro-LGBT alternative-media company, the Pittsburgh Current.

The City of Pittsburgh official website, and Visit Pittsburgh are two more travel and information resources. The "PG", the largest regional daily, a traditionally liberal newspaper, got a new conservative chief editor in 2018. Many readers have been distressed by their recent firing of an editorial cartoonist of 25 years, for works critical of Donald Trump. The PublicSource is a non-profit website with local news.

For a city map with locations and website links to businesses of interest, entertainment venues and museums, see our gay Pittsburgh map & listings pages. For some photos from around town see our gallery, and the events tab lists some upcoming things to do and see. To list your event click here.